


Brothers

by orphan_account



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Gen, Post-Canon, World War I, gotta love these nerds, platonic bros!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-08-31 11:51:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8577400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A collection of moments between Jack and Davey, verses varying.





	1. Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack tries to get Davey to take a break ( Post-Canon ).

A high-pitched  ** yelp **  is the soundtrack to the action shot that includes flailing hands and scattering sheets of music.

“ _ –Jack! _ ”   


An  **_ almost _ ** shame-faced Jack Kelly pokes his head up from behind the bench situated in front of the piano and feigns innocence as he runs a hand through tousled hair.

“You need a  break , Dave. You’ve been at that math problem for almost an  _ hour _ .”   


Sighing as he sets his pencil down, Davey gives his fallen friend a dry look from his spot at the dining room table, books spread out in an orderly fashion.

“You’re the  _** reason ** _  it’s taken a hour. I can’t focus if you’re messing with everything in sight. It’s  _ distracting _ .”   


Brushing himself off as he stands, Jack has a perfected look of faux-offense on his face. _H_ __o_ w _ could Davey  ** accuse **  him of such a thing? He was the  _ least _ distracting person on this  _** planet ** _ , thank you very much. Besides, David had been in a sour mood since arriving home ( Jack had been waiting for  **_ someone _ ** to get there after finishing selling early ), and he could  tell  school hadn’t gone  _ well _ that day. He was just trying to help.

“I haven’t messed with  **_ everything _ ** ,” he retorts, before shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding towards the piano, where he’s restored the sheet music to its rightful place. It’s not as  neat  as Davey would’ve liked it to be, but his main concern is that Jack probably didn’t put it all back in order, “ _ c’mon _ , it’ll take  two  minutes to teach me this song. Then you can get back to work.”   


Knowing very well that Jack wasn’t going to leave him be until he relented, Davey heaved a laborious sigh and abandoned his math work. Giving Jack a coarse look, he makes his way over to the piano and plops down, leaving enough room on the bench for his friend.

“Put your hands  _ here– _ ”   


Jack’s not exactly what davey would call a  _ ‘natural’ _ when it came to playing the piano, but he picks up what he’s taught impressively fast. It’s a matter of making his hands do what he wanted to that was the issue, even if Jack knew what he was supposed to be doing. It convinces Davey that Jack would probably do  _ well _  in school ( not necessarily  **_ socially _ ** , but academically ). not that there was much to be done about that  **_ now _ ** .

A few minutes turns into a half hour, and then a full hour. Davey barely notices the hands of the dining room clock move, spirits having picked up with the keys under his fingertips. His mother makes sure to enter quietly, the laughter and cheery music floating out of her apartment too good to interrupt. The wide smiles on her boys’ faces is even  _ better– _ she hasn’t seen Davey smile like  ** this **  in a long time.

As she places her bags of groceries on the kitchen counter and begins to sort through it all, she silently thanks Jack Kelly for barging into their lives.


	2. Patching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Davey post-battle during WWI.

“Will you quit  **_ movin _ ** _ ’– _ ?”   


“Not until you tell me what in the **world** **** possessed you to  _ dive _ back into battle like that! I had it under control.”   


“Davey, you could barely  **_ walk _ ** ,” Jack counters, a displeased smile on his face as he  carefully  grabs hold of Davey’s leg and pulls it closer to himself so he can examine it. His helmet is crooked, one strap having snapped in action, and a small trickle of blood has manifested on the side of his face, stemming from a small cut on his forehead.   


“That doesn’t mean you had to  _ throw _ yourself back into danger after you were already in a  _ safe  _ spot , Jack.”   


Electing to ignore to unhappy look on Davey’s face, Jack delicately rolls up the pant leg of his friend’s uniform to get better access to the nasty gash on the leg under it. The pained hiss that accompanies his actions worries him, and he tears a relatively clean strip of his coat off to tie it  _ tight  _ around the wound, hoping it applied enough pressure to help stop the bleeding.

“I wasn’t gonna just  **_ leave _ ** you out there,” Jack finally responds, tightening the knot of fabric and pointedly not looking at his comrade. When Davey opens his mouth to argue, Jack looks him in the eyes and cuts him off, “ _ you _ would’ve done the  same  thing.”   


Davey’s mouth shuts closed again, thoughts stewing in his head as he tries desperately to focus on words rather than the overwhelming  ** pain **  radiating from his leg. He knew Jack was  _ right _ , but he didn’t want his friend, who had a  _ wife _ waiting for him back home, to be throwing himself into the heat of battle because  **_ he _ ** was down.

“S _ o? _  Jack, that was  ** reckless ** , even for  _ you _ .”   


Jack snorts, and leans into the ‘bandaged’ wound, applying more pressure and hoping to quiet Davey. His everlasting streak of recklessness didn’t need to be discussed right here, right now in the trenches.

“But you’re  _ here _ , ain’t you? And I’m  _ fine _ , ain’t I? It doesn’t matter  how  it happened.”

Davey pauses, paling from something other than shock. Wide eyes quickly scan Jack’s uniform, trying to distinguish what the various stains on his uniform  _ were– _ they could be dirt, they could be mus, they could be grease, they could blood ( but what concerns Davey is that he’s not sure  ** whose **  it is ). He hadn’t thought to check and see that Jack  **_ had _ ** made it out unharmed. As Jack starts to rise and help Davey off the ground, practically carrying **** him to medical, Davey attempts to size up any new injuries on the shorter soldier.

“–You  **_ are _ ** fine, right?”   


“Well, you just about gave me a  heart attack , if that counts for anything.”   


“ _J_ _ ack Kelly– _ ”   


“I’m  **_ fine _ ** , Dave.“

“It’s payback for all the heart attacks  **_ you’ve  _ ** given me all these years.”   


“I was never  **_ that _ ** bad.”   


“Trust me. You were  _ worse _ .”   



	3. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate timeline where instead of Crutchie getting caught post-Seize the Day, Davey and Jack get put in the refuge instead.

Davey can’t remember ever being this cold and hungry. Jack  _ can _ .

Huddled together on an upper bunk, confined inside unforgiving brick walls, they stayed alert as the night dragged on in the refuge. Jack had attempted to insist Davey try and get some sleep, but Davey adamantly refused. Neither of them could sleep _ – _ not after the day they’d had.

“Your folks’ll come get you in the mornin’, I’m  ** sure ** ,” jack whispers hoarsely, eyes darting around the room, falling upon every boy ( young  **_ and _ ** old ) lying restlessly in their bunks as though he were their  _ guardian– _ as though he could somehow protect them all from what horrors this place had in store for them all. The refuge wasn’t known for being  **_ kind _ ** to those in it. And these boys had been dragged away right beside him– he should’ve  _** known ** _  the strike was a bad idea. That trying to  fight  the scabs and the cops had been a bad idea. Thankfully Crutchie and Les had gotten out of there  _ fast _ , along with a good handful of the boys. But the few around him and poor Davey hadn’t been as lucky.   


Jack had been running from  **_ this _ ** for so long that he’d gone  numb  the minute he saw the building. He looked positively  haunted , pale and almost entirely unresponsive; even his  _ eyes _ seemed vacant. Davey would be home in no time, he was sure. Anyone with folks **** usually got an okay ride out of here if the charge wasn’t  _ too _ bad. But if you had no folks, chances were you were  ** stuck **  here for a full sentence. Unless you happened to find a way into the backseat of the current governor’s carriage, of course.

The morbid  ** delight **  in Snyder’s eyes as he saw Jack trudge in the front door made the teenager's stomach  _ churn _ . He knew he had his fair share of  strife  in store this time around. Snyder had been waiting for this day for too long-- he'd had plenty of time to think up a list of punishments for an escaped convict who started a strike against their mutual boss. Better him than another boy.

“ _J_ __ust_ –  _ can y’do somethin’ for me when y’do, Davey?”   


Blinking slowly, Davey  cautiously  nods his head, with no idea what would leave Jack’s lips next. He didn’t have the energy to try and reassure Jack that the Jacobs would help bail him out ( false hope had never done much good, and Jacobs didn't exactly have money to spare ).

“Can you make sure Crutchie does alright? Let ‘im know I’m  ** okay ** . And tell the guys not to _ visit– _ they don’t need t’ be gettin’ caught ‘round  **_ here _ ** .”   


“Yeah,” Davey whispers hoarsely, rubbing at a forming bruise on his arm subconsciously, “yeah, I’ll tell ‘em. But you’ll find a way out like you did  _ last _ time, won't **** you? Can’t have a  ** strike **  without the  _ president _ .”   


Jack wants to  **_ shout _ ** . He wants to stare Davey down with  _ daggers _ and  ** holler **  at the top of his lungs– they’re sitting in the refuge, and Davey’s still on the  **_ strike _ ** . The strike that hadn’t worked in the slightest. The strike that put not only them, but  _ most _ of the manhattan newsies in harm’s way. There was no  _** way ** _  he was letting that continue. Struggling to keep his voice down, not wanting any guards hear any hint of  ** talking **  ( they’d get  _ punished  _ for that and Jack didn’t want Davey to have to go through that abuse if there was a chance he could get out of here  unscathed  ), he shut the idea down.

“There ain’t no strike anymore. Never should’a  _ been _ one in the first place, Dave. But because’a my ** big mouth ** , we’re stuck  _ here _ . Kids were bleeding and running and it’s  _ my  _ fault. No more. It ain’t  worth  a couple’a pennies.”   


Davey stares at him with a hint of betrayal in his eyes, and Jack wishes he could regret his words. Instead, he continues.

“If  **_ you _ ** wanna take charge, be my guest. But I ain’t goin’ nowhere for a  **_ long _ ** time. Even if I was, I wouldn’t be goin’ back to _Ne_ _ wsies Square _ _._ ”   


Jack hugs his legs to his chest and lets his eyes trace a spidering crack in the wall, trying to ignore the burning sting of tears in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t need D **_ avey  _ ** of all people seeing him  ** cry ** . Crying wasn’t allowed here, not from  _ him _ . He didn’t dare **** shed a tear within these walls.

“I thought the _infamous_ Jack Kelly would’ve been more **_resilient_** ,” Davey whispers, staring at his toes as they dangle off the side of the bunk, knowing exactlyhow much of a _sting_ his words were to the ex-union leader’s pride.


	4. Privilege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Davey debate what it means to be privileged. ( Post-Canon )

A subtle remark about the Jacobs’ privilege at the dinner table ( it’d been a few months since the strike so Jack was feeling a  _ little  _ more comfortable being a  regular guest  in their home by now ), has Davey on his feet, excusing himself, and practically  **_ dragging  _ ** the union leader to the fire escape.

Jack’s oblivious to Davey’s  boiling anger  at first, completely unaware that he may have said something to upset him. So naturally, when his friend practically  _ hisses _ at him in hushed tones, Jack is on the immediate  defense .

So defensive, in fact, that he barely registers Davey’s explanation and _ justification– _ what he has, he  ** shares **  with not only Jack but the rest of the boys, whether that's the knowledge he gets from schooling or advice, and that if his financial situation hadn’t been what it was, the strike may or may  ** not **  have still happened. And that’s  **_ fair _ ** , Jack can come to terms with that. But like  _ hell _ his pride was going to let this go; so he  **_ pushes _ ** back.

“S _ ee _ , now that your father is back to work, you and Les don’t  **_ need _ ** to work. Which means you’re in a better position than the  _ boys _ are. Which was  _ alllll _  I was sayin' back there.”

Davey’s face pinches, obvious irritation crunching his features together, and he fights to keep his voice down now ( he wants to keep this between  _ them _ , and keep his family completely  ** unaware **  ).

“A family of  **_ five _ ** lived off of what could barely sustain  _ you _ for a solid  three or four months , so _I_ _ don’t wanna hear it. _ ”

And Jack’s expression shifts into a tight-lipped  **_ smile _ ** as he buries any  hurt  that may have surfaced. Because for those ‘three or four months’ he’d been splitting the sixty-forty in  **_ their _ ** favor. He’d given them what he’d hoped could provide at least a  _ little _ more  ** help ** . And while he’d never breathed a  word  of it to either Jacobs brother, it didn’t make Davey’s words sting any  _ less _ .

“ _Y_ _ ep _ . You are  ** absolutely **  right. It’s  **_ tough  _ ** makin’ money stretch.  _ I _  had to work while my folks were around.  _ I _  didn’t get to go play or go to school. I  **_ worked _ ** . And I haven’t  stopped  workin’ since. Things are tough all over, but the boys would  _ gladly _ take your life  any  day. They’d take it and you wouldn’t hear a  _ peep _ of complaint outta  ** them **  about how hard it is. ‘cause right now, half of ‘em are snoozin’ on the street tonight all on their own. It was tough for you and your folks for a couple’a months,  _ sure _ . But you don’t know what it’s like not to have a  ** HOME ** to go to at the end of the day. You don’t know what it’s like not having  **_ folks _ ** to go home to at the end of the day. You wanna preach about how tough  _ you’ve _ had it? _**I**_ **_  don’t wanna hear it. _ ** ”   


The small talk fluttering about from inside the Jacobs apartment falls dead  ** silent **  as he finishes his speech, and Jack feels his ears  _ burn _ . Swiveling his eyes to his feet he hesitates **** for a moment before turning and climbing down the fire escape as  _ quickly _ as he can, not wanting to see Davey’s expression or hear any further argument.

Storming off in the middle of the night to Medda’s theatre ( so he could blow off some steam via painting ), fists clenched at his side to the point where his knuckles were white, he hopes he’d put Davey in his  **_ place _ ** .


	5. Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack deals with the loss of his best friend. ( WWI AU )

If there is one **** thing Jack does not breathe a  _ word  _ of after he returns home, it’s the crushing loss he endured overseas. One he couldn’t  **_ keep  _ ** overseas. It traveled home with him, a chain wrapped securely around his heart and weighing it down more **** and  **_ more  _ ** with each day had to move on without his best friend at his side.

And it was no one’s fault but his  _ own  _ that Davey was no longer living. They’d had each other’s backs throughout the war, but somehow Jack hadn’t been watching carefully **** enough,  **_ diligently  _ ** enough. He’d gotten lost in the chaotic haze of battle **** and wasn’t  _ thinking  _ anymore. He couldn’t  _ think  _ until he was bracing himself for the shock of pain as the sound of a bullet slapping skin reached his ears ( it’d become a  **_ habit  _ ** of his, really, getting shot because he was too busy diving **** into the heat of the fight without a second thought ). But the shock never came; not in the way Jack was  ** EXPECTING  ** it, at least.

Now, every time he closes his eyes he  **_ sees  _ ** it, involuntarily experiences **** it all over again _ – _  Davey shoving him out of a precise bullet’s path ( a move far too rough **** for Davey to be anything but  _ instinctual _ , Jack realizes much later ), his heart getting caught in his throat the moment **dread** **** kicked in to mix with adrenaline, and his best friend laying cold **** in his arms.

Jack would  _ never  _ forgive himself. He **deserved** **** to be plagued by the nightmares and the white hot panic that pierced through his heart when so much as a sharp noise hit the air. He **deserved** **** the bullet to the gut he received soon after he had to write home and deliver the bad news. But he  _ hadn’t  _ deserved to go home early. Davey **** should’ve been the one going home. _**D**_ _** avey’s  ** _ the one who should’ve lived.

This weighed heavily on his shoulders as he stood before his ~~friend's~~ brother's **** grave, a handful of flowers in his hand, as rain beat down and soaked through his overcoat. Jack was sure he’d be greeted by a displeased, though understandably  ** concerned ** , Katherine when he returned home, but he could handle a cold should one catch him. Making his daily **** visit was far more important than fretting about whether or not he’d get  _ sick _ , in his opinion. Rubbing a calloused thumb along the smooth stem of a flower, Jack studied the stone before him as the rain water supplied it with a special kind of glisten. The Star of David stared back at him, and the sight of his best friend’s name directly above it made his stomach  _ churn _ . Even after all these months he couldn’t fight the sting **** of guilty tears as they burn his eyes _ – _

“I’m  **_ sorry _ ** .”   


His voice comes out in the form of a rasp as he speaks his very first words to the stone since it was erected, struggling **** not to fall apart.

“I’m  _ sorry  _ I  couldn’t save you, and I’m  _ sorry  _ I  couldn’t get ‘em to bring your body back, and I’m  _ sorry  _ I  couldn’t make myself go to your funeral or so much as look at your family since I got back and I’m  _ sorry  _ I  haven’t said a  **_ word  _ ** to you since _  I– _ ”   


Audibly choking **** on his previously rapid-fire string of words, Jack hangs his head as his shoulders heave. He couldn’t  _ do  _ it. He couldn’t talk to someone who wasn’t  **_ there _ ** . He’d been able to stare up at the starry sky and talk to his mother **** as though she were still beside him, as though she were a star herself. But despite all the guilt he had carried with him for so much of his childhood, he’d understood that her death had **not** **** been his fault. But _D_ __avey_ –  _ D avey  ** WAS  ** his fault.

How was he supposed to look Mrs. Jacobs, a woman who had taken him in, treated him like a  ** son ** , given him a  _ family  _ again, and not expect to see disgust **** in her eyes? _**H**_ _** e  ** _ was the reason she’d lost her eldest son _ – _ her  **_ real  _ ** son. How could she possibly forgive **** him for this?

Katherine has been  _ insisting  _ he visit, that it’d do him some  ** good ** . But what good **** could come from such an encounter? Best case scenario, he  **_ falls apart _ ** right there in the Jacobs’ kitchen in front of the poor woman. He was too ashamed to face the family now that he hadn’t attended the funeral _ – _ any chance there was for him to change his mind had  _ vanished  _ that day. Besides, he didn’t need anyone to see him break apart, let alone people who must be hurting more **** than he is.

_ God _ , was he hurting.

Swallowing thickly, Jack raised his head again and looked at the stone at his feet for another moment with  **_ horrifically  _ ** exhausted eyes as he pulled himself together loosely once again. Gently placing the small clump of flowers in front of the grave, mesmerized by the way raindrops bounced off the petals, he replaced **** the flowers he’d left the day before. Feeling the rain start to seep into his bones, emphasizing the toll  ** bottled emotions **  were taking on an already weary body, causing the healing scar on his abdomen to  _ ache _ , Jack takes a step away from Davey’s grave.

“ _I_ __’ll_ – _  I’ll see you  ** tomorrow ** , Dave.”


End file.
